Song Review: Fiestar – Mirror

Fiestar are on the cusp of renewed interest, thanks to notable variety show stints from members Yezi and Cao Lu. It comes as a bit of a surprise, then, that Mirror continues the sultry, midtempo sound of last year’s not-so-successful You’re Pitiful rather than opting for a reinvention (or return to the fun sound of One More). Of course, commercial success doesn’t always equate song quality.

Hands down, Mirror is all about its gorgeous, sweeping synth line. This is both an asset and issue for the song. It gives it a specific, memorable vibe, but (during the verses especially) I found myself hooked on what’s happening with that synth — how it filters in and out, but mostly takes over — to the point that its dominance relegated the actual vocals to a support role. It’s certainly not the first time production has hijacked a song, but unlike the recent example of 4minutes’s Hate, Mirror still manages to (mostly) triumph on its own merits. And more importantly, its main production point is strong enough to compensate for any of the track’s shortcomings.

Once the chorus comes in, Mirror‘s various elements come together strongly, creating a pretty potent hook that “mirrors” the girls’ breathy vocals with the track. I’m not a fan of the verse that immediately follows, where most of the instrumental drops out and the tempo lulls, but this is a particular production technique I’ve never been fond of. It does prove yet again just how important that dang synth is, though! Without it, the energy flags.